The third time around....

As a parent, by your third child you start to think of yourself as a "seasoned" parent. This doesn't mean you think you have all the answers, because we all know that every child is different and requires different parenting techniques. And truthfully, we have not even come close to beginning the dreaded teen years. But you become pretty confident in your instincts and judgments regarding your own children. And then just when you are confident you are really in tune with your kids and their needs, your 11 month old comes down with some crazy virus that sends you back into the "new parent" mode, complete with feelings of inadequacy, constant questioning of your decision making capability, and anxiety.

I spent last night in the ER with Hailey following 24 hours of vomiting, diarrhea and then a sudden onset fever yesterday afternoon. After speaking with her doctor, we decided to take her to the ER to make sure she wasn't severely dehydrated and in need of IV fluids. She went from 8 a.m until 6 pm without a wet diaper :( The concerns were increased because she also had cold symptoms prior to starting with stomach symptoms. So simultaneously she has a million symptoms including: vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy (slept all day yesterday...literally) fever, runny nose, cough, etc. Hailey's doctor was concerned about dehydration and/or infection causing sudden onset of fever. As a parent, I had obviously questioned her hydration situation and was worried about how "run-down" she was. Anyone who knows Hailey, knows that she is constantly on the move and rarely is fussy.

So of course I was pretty much worrying about her all day and just needed the words from her doctor to send me in. So we went....and three hours later the diagnosis...."viral illness". This comes with two conflicting feelings. The big one....relief... that it is not all of the terrible things that my brain went to when a baby is ill and can't tell you what is wrong. The second though is embarrassment/annoyance....as a mother of three, shouldn't I know that I just need to be patient and let a virus run its course??? Why is it that when we don't have a concrete answer about something we tend to go to the worst possible scenario??? And the dreaded "v" word means no medicine that will have her on her way to healthy in the matter of hours :(

So....today we are treating the fever with ibuprofen and Tylenol (which I didn't do yesterday because I didn't know if her tummy could handle it) and "letting the virus run it's course". Which every parent knows ...is the worst! The vomiting has subsided and she is eating cheerios and drinking pedialyte. She has been sleeping most of the day again, hopefully that is just what she needs to get better.

I would like to use this experience to remind myself that even with the third child I am still just a parent....a parent who worries and wonders and questions and prays. More than anything, I needed a reminder that God is in control and loves my children even more than I do. He will take care of them as well.